www.tucsoncitizen.com

Thursday, October 13, 2005
Guest Opinion: Only a border fence 2,000 miles long will safeguard our security

COLIN A. HANNA
letters@tucsoncitizen.com

Four years after 9/11, America's borders remain largely open and insecure, leaving our nation vulnerable to terrorist attack.
Only a state-of-the-art security fence, spanning the entire length of our southern border, can resolve this national security crisis.

More than 1 million illegal immigrants now cross our southern border each year, and these numbers are rising dramatically.

An expanded indictment of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the American student charged with planning to assassinate President Bush, recently claimed that Abu Ali planned to traffic al-Qaida cell members through Mexico to aid in the plot.

Congressman John Culberson, R-Texas, recently said terrorists already are entering America by way of Mexico. The FBI director "testified under oath to my committee," he said, that people from countries with known al-Qaida connections have entered the U.S., assuming false Hispanic identities. "Unfortunately, the terrorists will hit us again, and I am confident the next attack will be massive truck bombs in multiple cities across the U.S."

The situation is urgent. Govs. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Bill Richardson of New Mexico have declared their states' immigration problems to be emergencies.

And the crisis finally is getting federal attention. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff admitted last month that "the American public is rightly distressed about a situation in which they feel we do not have the proper control over our borders."

On Sept. 21, 24 members of the bipartisan Texas congressional delegation wrote to President Bush urging immediate action. The letter declared a "state of emergency along our border with Mexico." It said "illegal aliens, many of which are 'Other Than Mexicans' (OTMs), are crossing our border by the hundreds on a daily basis. They are presenting an immediate danger to the lives of people in every Texas community and beyond. We strongly urge you to take action now."

The most common proposal is to increase the Border Patrol by several thousand agents. This fails to appreciate the magnitude of the problem and the threat to national security.

More than 100,000 OTM illegal immigrants have crossed our border with Mexico this year. Nearly 500 came from designated "special interest" countries such as Afghanistan, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan, Tunisia and Yemen. Any one of these could have been a terrorist intent on bringing death to our citizens and tragedy to our nation.

In the 21st century, only a fence can protect our country while allowing it to remain a beacon of liberty. Whenever possible, secure our nation while preserving our commitment to an open society - a nation where legal immigration, commerce, trade and tourism can flourish.

A 2,000-mile, multilayer, state-of-the-art security fence from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico would safeguard our security and way of life.

This is no Great Wall of China. Rather, it would consist of coils of barbed wire, a ditch, two tall and sturdy wire fences with sensors to warn of any incursion, closed-circuit TV cameras and motion detectors.

Such a fence finally would give us a significant measure of protection from those who wish us harm.

It should be wide enough to allow border security vehicles to conduct patrols within the walls. It also could be designed with up to 200 legal crossing points to accommodate commerce, tourism and legitimate commuting.

A similar fence in Israel dramatically reduced the number of Palestinian terrorist incursions and bombings in a much more openly hostile region. This is real border security with proven results.

Outside San Diego, a 14-mile border fence is nearing completion. Despite roadblocks by environmentalist groups, this less-sophisticated fence has reduced the area that border agents must defend while strongly deterring crossings in the region.

Now we need a fence for all 2,000 miles.

Our southern border is patrolled by 11,000 agents. It would take 150,000 to 200,000 agents and annual budgets of $5 billion to $10 billion to bring this failing system close to adequacy.

But more border agents are not the answer. A one-time investment of $8 billion would cover construction of a state-of-the-art border fence. This is an effective and relatively inexpensive way to prevent any repeat of inhumane and costly terrorist attacks.

Do we really need to suffer another 9/11 before we get serious about our border problem?

Colin A. Hanna of West Chester, Pa., is president of Let Freedom Ring Inc., a public policy organization promoting constitutional government, free enterprise and traditional values, and We-Need-A-Fence (www.WeNeedAFence.com).